Abstract
Trypanosomiasis is one of the most important diseases affecting economic development for humans and livestock. The current research aimed to assess the in vitro antitrypanosomal effect of methanol extracts of Indigofera oblongifolia leaf (IME) and to examine the brain response after IME treatment of infected mice. In the in vitro method, IME (1.25 mg/ml) was able to kill all parasites after 30 min of exposure. The percentage of the parasite inhibition reached 100% after 180 min of the IME application. Swiss albino mice were infected with 103Trypanosoma evansi then were daily treated with 100 mg/Kg IME for four days. IME was able to significantly decrease the number of trypanosomes in mice blood. In addition, IME improved the histopathological changes in mice brain induced by the infection. Furthermore, following treatment with IME, the level of epinephrine and nitric oxide in the mice brain homogenate decreased significantly. Taken together, I. Oblongifolia has antitrypanosomal activity and might enhance the brain response to T. evansi.